


Rider, Massachusetts

by MrsNoraPalmer



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Some angst, get ready, i've always wanted to write, prompt, the ooey gooey holiday fic, utter fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 13:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17305244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsNoraPalmer/pseuds/MrsNoraPalmer
Summary: Based on an ask prompt: only two people in this hotel/inn and sitting in my room alone wasn’t fun so I’m invading yoursNora Darhk checks into the Storybrooke Inn after getting lost in the storm, pausing her road trip to be anywhere but Star City after the death of her parents. Ray Palmer's GPS stops working on his way home from a business trip in New York and that brings him to the small picturesque inn. They're the only two guests checked in and decide to be lonely together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as an ask prompt thanks to el and now it turned into all of this. I am so please and so stoked about this. I've always wanted to write an ooey gooey holiday fic like this but never had the right idea. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH EL REALLY YOU HAVE MADE MY DAY. Enjoy everyone! PS there will be a bit of an epilogue type chapter after this just so Maude can gloat.

She hadn’t planned to be here. Neither had he. When the snow got bad somehow, kismet, serendipity, fate, maybe even God, led them to both pull into the Storybrooke Inn. Coincidence or not, the Inn looked something straight out of a storybook. It was still covered in Christmas lights and decorations as was the small quaint town of Rider, Massachusetts. Ray was in New York for a business meeting when his GPS suddenly stopped working and he got lost. Nora was trying to be anywhere but Star City. She was a long way from home, across the country to be precise, she’d been taking the cross country trip ever since her parents were killed in a car crash just before Christmas.

Nora had arrived first. She walked into the just as equally decorate foyer of the inn and then walked up to the front desk, ringing the bell. She glanced around to the adjoining living room, seeing presumably locals since there was only one other car than hers in the parking lot, probably the owner’s, playing cards, chess, reading, just sitting somewhere to get warm and be a little less lonely on New Years Eve.

An older woman came from another adjoining room that she couldn’t tell what it was and smiled warmly at her.

“Can I help you?” Nora looked the woman over and the warmth didn’t seem to fade, she was embodiment of the holidays and everything Nora never had growing up.

Nora nodded. “Yes, I got a bit lost and the storm is making it pretty impossible to get anywhere so I’ll be needing a room for the night.”

“Well we’re happy fate brought you to Rider either way. I’m Maude Mills, I own the inn.” She extended her hand to Nora and Nora shook it.

“I’m Nora… Sorry, my hands are still a bit chilly from the storm outside.” Nora quickly retracted her hand and watched as the woman reached behind her for keys off the very full key rack behind her.

“That’s alright, dear, just sign in here.” Maude pointed to a pad in front of her on the desk and Nora filled out her basic information. “You’ll be our only guest, if you get too lonely up there, a lot of the locals like to stick around late into the evening to ring in the new year. You’re welcome to join us.”

Nora smiled sadly, not quite in the New Years Eve mood and nodded. “Thank you, but the warm bed in the room will probably just put me right to sleep.”

Maude nodded. “Okay, well, we’ll be here if we change your mind. Let me walk you up to your room.”

xxxx

Ray pulled up to an inn that he hoped was open. He saw just a few cars and was even surprised to see the Washington plates on the car next to his. Of all the gin joints. He walked inside with his bags, seeing an older woman at the front desk as he strolled up, glad that the inn was in fact open.

“Hi there!” He greeted.

“Well hello there! What a treat, I get two guests in the span of an hour. I’m Maude, who you might you be?”

“I’m Ray… I got a bit lost in the storm and need a room for the night, please tell me you’re not all booked up for the holidays?” He asked and going off the full key rack, save for one set of keys missing, it probably wasn’t.

Maude waved him off and laughed at his joke. “Nope, you’ll be my one of two guests. Just sign in here and I’ll get you all set up.”

Ray obliged and noticed the only other name on the guestbook. _Nora Darhk_. He’d heard that name before but he couldn’t place where. He finished and took the keys from Maude and let her lead him to his room.

xxxx

Nora looked up from her book when she heard shuffling and voices move past her door. Maude? Another guest? She heard a deeper, charming, male voice chatting with Maude. She heard a door open near her and shut a few moments later. Nora shivered slightly and stared at the unlit fireplace across from her bed. She really didn’t want to start a fire and possibly set something else on fire in the process so she resolved to sitting on her bed in her thickest sweater and coziest socks.

Another few hours passed and Nora, despite moving under the covers now, was almost completely freezing. She looking at the time 10:13pm. Less than two hours to midnight. To a new year. To the first full year ahead of her without her parents. She swallowed thickly, trying to not let herself be sad about it. She let herself grieve and mourn up to the funeral and the wake after but quickly locked that part of herself away after that.

Nora was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a loud noise from the room next to hers. The clunking of logs and a satisfied sigh. Whoever was next door had started their fireplace. She sighed. Who was she? Sitting in here all pathetic by herself on New Years Eve. She couldn’t even be bothered to start her own fireplace. Nora, now in her pajamas, grabbed her robe and slipped on her houseshoes and padded out of the room. Wait what was she doing?

Not being alone. That’s what she was doing.

Knocking on a complete stranger’s door two hours to midnight? They could be a serial killer? Or they could just make her feel a little less lonely.

Nora gently rapped on the door next to hers and she sucked in a breath as a very tall, handsome, and shirtless man answered the door. She was so stunned her hand was still raised as if she were still knocking.

“Hey, can I help you?” The man greeted with a smile.

Words stuck in Nora’s throat as she tried _so hard_ not to stare at the man’s muscular chest and arms. “Umm… I just heard you starting your fire and I really don’t want to set my room on fire so I was wondering if I umm wow this sounds so stupid now that I am saying it out loud but… I was wondering if I could hang out in here?”

The man looked down after Nora was noticeably staring and realized he was still shirtless. He fetched his shirt from the bed and slid on the plain black tee. He leaned against the doorframe and listened to her request. Something inside him told him to let her in.

“Sure. Come on in, get warm, you look cold.”

Nora smiled in thanks and walked inside, wrapping her arms around herself, not sure what to do but thankful for the good 10 degree difference between his room and hers.

“I’m Ray by the way, Ray Palmer.” Ray held out his hand to Nora.

Nora shook it. “I’m Nora, Nora Darhk.” She smiled and then puzzle pieces clicked in her brain. “Like as in Ray Palmer of Palmer Technologies?”

“That’s me.” He grinned.

Nora guffawed. “What in the world are you doing at this tiny little Inn in Massachusetts?”

“I was on a business trip in New York and got a bit lost.” He shrugged. “Guess you can’t always count on GPS’s huh?” Ray offered her a seat on his bed and she gingerly sat down, pulling her legs up to her chest. “It seems we’re the only two guests so… what brought you to Rider?”

“Same as you… I mean… I got lost because of the storm. I’ve been on a cross country road trip since Christmas Eve.”

“Are you the one with the Washington state plates? Are you driving across the country to see different family members?”

Nora nodded. “Yeah… that’s me, why? And no… I don’t have any family, kinda why I took the roadtrip. To get away from that small fact.”

Ray had a sudden flash. An obituary in the paper for a Ruve Adams and a Damien Darhk, killed in a car crash, survived by their daughter… Nora. “You live in Star City, don’t you?”

Nora furrowed her brow, now suspecting this man was either a stalker, serial killer, or too good to be true. “Yeah… why do you know this much about me?”

Ray realized how all of his questions sounded and waved her off. “No it’s not like that… I saw your parents’ obituary in the paper a couple weeks ago… I’m sorry for your loss. That must be so hard losing them so close to the holidays.”

“Yeah well… that’s just how fate likes to treat me.” She shrugged. “I lost my job back in September and then this… I basically emptied my savings and found myself on the interstate on Christmas Eve, which is a bitch to dive in by the way, I’ve just been trying to be anywhere but Star City or any place that reminds me of my parents. I was on my way to Boston when I got lost and ended up here.”

Ray reached out and took her hand. “I’m sorry. I really am. Four years ago… I lost my fiancee, we got mugged at gunpoint and… he shot us both I somehow survived. I don’t know why or how… it doesn’t seem fair. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why she died and I got to live. I spent a lot of time with that pain, I wish I had the agency you did to just take off and deal with it in whatever way you pleased. If you want to talk about it more, I’m here, I know we just met but maybe opening up to a complete stranger you’ll never see again might be easier.”

Nora wiped away a stray tear that she was pissed she let fall and shook her head. “You never know, you might bump into me on the streets of Star City. But, I know what you mean. I’m sorry you lost her, but maybe you’re still here because of a greater purpose. I read the papers, your tech company is not only successful but gives back and really makes an effort to change things at a grassroots level, that’s revolutionary. None of that would be possible if you weren’t still here.”

Ray hadn’t thought of it that way. It didn’t make the pain of losing Anna any less worse four years down the line but it did make him breathe a little easier thinking about it. She was right. He had found purpose in those four years even though some of it was because he had thrown himself a little too much into his work but, he was still proud of all that he had accomplished.

“So, what’s this job that was stupid enough to let you go?” He asked, trying to move onto a lighter tone to the evening.

Nora tried to hide her smile. “I didn’t technically lose it, it’s just over for the season. Don’t judge… but I work at a Renaissance Fair. I’m considering not going back next season because my boss is a jerk so I kind of decided to lose my job.”

Ray tried to hold in his laugh. “Of all the things I thought you would say, that was definitely not it.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “You can laugh, go ahead. It wasn’t my first choice in jobs either. I have a teaching degree but no one wants to hire a drama teacher in the age of STEM.” She sarcastically airquoted ‘STEM’ and realized she was talking to a man with probably multiple degrees all in STEM fields. “Sorry.” She blushed and looked away.

Ray shrugged. “No, it’s okay. I love the arts. I have a lot of paintings in my apartment I commission from local artists and I love musicals. The arts are still important no matter what other science fuddy-duddies say.”

Nora smiled and realized they were still holding hands, she tried to retract, realizing he probably hadn’t meant to hold her hand this long but he simply put his other hand on the other side of hers and smiled, so she kept it there.

“So you like musicals?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Do I? _Singin in the Rain_ is my favorite movie of all time.”

Nora grinned. “I’m more of a _Grease_ girl myself, but I can appreciate Debbie Reynolds in her prime.”

“What else do you like to do other than watch musicals and what exactly is it that you do at the Ren fair?”

“I’m a witch. I tell fortunes and pretend to cast loves spells or curse enemies. All very Morgana Le Fey type stuff.” She found herself now playing with his fingers as he let off one of his hands off and she tangled their fingers together. It felt almost instinctual to do this. And she wasn’t sure why.

“You continue to surprise me, Nora Darhk.” He shook his head and gazed at her longingly, he really truly hoped he’d bump into her one day in Star City.

Nora moved their hands so they were in a position to thumb wrestle and gave him a smirk. They absently started thumb wrestling as they continued to talk.

“And to answer your other question, I like to draw, paint, I dabble a little bit in photography, I sort of do a little bit of everything since I don’t exactly have the most stable job in the world.”

“Paint anything I might have seen in a gallery or coffee shop?”

She shook her head. “I’m not that good, I’d love to start a photography series called Faces in the City where I just capture Star City for what it is, the good and the bad. Maybe it’ll help bring change, I’d love to donate and proceeds I make off of selling prints to homeless shelters around town.”

His heart swelled. This woman had had the worst few months of her life and there was still room in her heart for people less fortunate than her. She was a marvel.

“I could help you with that,” he offered.

Nora realized he meant financially and she waved him off. “No… you don’t have to do that.”

“No, come on I think it’s a great idea, maybe if not with that but with the drama teacher gig. I give a lot to STEM camps but I also give a lot to art programs. Summer programs that teach kids how to write, draw, paint, do theatre, music, dance. They’re always looking for qualified instructors.”

“I had one real year of teaching before they cut the funding at my school so I’m not exactly what you would call ‘qualified’,” she said.

“I think you’re plenty amazing and any school would be lucky to have you shaping and encouraging the future minds of this country. Teachers don’t get enough credit. If you ever need a recommendation while you’re job hunting, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Nora choked out a laugh. “You’ve known me for an hour, why would you want to do that?”

“Because I see that there is something incredibly special about you, Nora, and I’m really glad whatever it was that brought us here together tonight did. I don’t know how we ended up being the only two residents of this inn but I’m thankful it meant we got to meet.”

Nora face flushed. What exactly did he mean by all of that? Was it romantic interest? Plantonic interest? Was she even ready for romantic interest? She’d known this man an hour. She glanced at the clock 11:15pm. Forty-five minutes until 2019. She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Me too.”

They spent the next forty minutes talking about life, laughing at how rowdy the locals downstairs were getting, Ray showed her some of his personal invention ideas that he just had to get on paper somewhere, he wasn’t sure if they’d ever come to be, but they all revolved around making the world a safer and better place and Nora’s heart swelled at his heart for humanity. It was now five minutes to midnight and they had moved to sit in front of the fire. Ray had snuck downstairs and nabbed a bottle of sparkling grape juice and two glasses. He poured them each a glass and settled down next to her in front of the fire.

Nora had shed her robe, it was too hot to have it on and sit in front of the fire but now it was almost like she was just still a smidge too cold to be comfortable.

Ray noticed her shivering and fetched a blanket, he sat back down across from her and draped the blanket over the both of them, their legs brushed together. Nora looked absolutely beautiful next to the fire. An absolute angel if he were honest. Maybe one day she would be his angel.

The minutes ticked by and they sat in a comfortable silence, two minutes to midnight now.

“Hey, Ray?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever kissed anyone at midnight?” She asked, looking a little apprehensive to even broach the subject of the New Years Eve tradition.

Ray nodded. “Anna and I did every New Years we were together. What about you?”

Nora shook her head. “If my dad was awake he’d kiss my cheek and say ‘Happy New Year, Nora-doll’ but other than that, no.”

“Why do you ask?” He couldn’t help himself now, he reached for her free hand and tangled their fingers together.

“Will you kiss me at midnight?” Any boldness she had left her body the minute she asked and immediately tore her hand away to cover her mouth. “I’m sorry… that was really forward wow are you sure this is non-alcoholic?”

Ray chuckled. “Yes.”

Nora looked up at him. “Yes to what?”

Ray heard cheering from below and a clock tower chiming in the distance. Midnight. He smiled and pulled her in for a soft, sweet kiss and then pulled back. “What do you think?”

Nora smiled in return and pulled him back in for another kiss. “I’m really happy we decided to be lonely together.”

“Happy New Year, Nora.” If she hadn’t just met him tonight, she’d consider the look in his eyes to be of complete adoration and love.

“Happy New Year, Ray.” She knew now that 2019 would be her absolute best year yet.


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a short epilogue, it didn't end up that way. #sorrynotsorry
> 
> I'm gutted at the thought of saying goodbye to these two but at least we know they're always meant to be, not matter what universe.

They hadn’t meant to fall asleep in each other’s arms in front of his fireplace last night, but they had. They stayed up talking until about 1:30 before sleep finally claimed them. Nora had momentarily freaked out at their state until Ray gave her a soft, reassuring smile that she hoped she’d see at least once daily for the rest of her life.

What in the world was she thinking? She had just met this man and she was already thinking about seeing his face every day for the rest of their lives? _Get a hold of yourself, girl._ Nora had politely excused herself to go back to her room to get ready for the day and promised to meet him downstairs for breakfast before either of them left. They both only checked in for one night and as long as the storm cleared, there was no reason for either of them to stay.

The thought saddened Nora, leaving their little holiday bubble but she knew that she’d see him again when they both got back to Star City. He’d be taking his rental car into Boston and she would start making the cross country road trip back to Star City just as he was boarding a plane back to Washington state. They promised to meet up at Jitters as soon as she got back.

Nora made her way downstairs to what she learned was the dining room. She’d seen Maude come out of it the night before but it had been mostly closed off since it was long past dinner time when she’d arrived. She saw the sun shining through the alcove window on one side of the room and then she saw Ray already sitting at the table with a small plate of breakfast. She gave him a soft smile before helping herself to the small buffet of food and settled down next to him.

“Morning… again…” Nora smiled over her cup of orange juice.

Ray grinned. “Good morning, Nora.” Ray scooped up some of his scrambled eggs and ate in a comfortable silence with her.

Nora glanced behind them and saw the snow piling high but a snow plow driving by paving the streets to make it driveable.

Ray noticed her staring and glanced back at the window. “Looks like they’re clearing up the roads.”

Nora nodded. “Yeah, guess this means it’ll be safe to drive.”

Ray watched her face fall to a slightly disappointed expression and he tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. “Hey, we’re gonna see each other again. Maybe not in a place this picturesque but you and me, Star City Jitters the second you get in. I wanna take you out on a real first date.”

Nora blushed and looked away. “I know, but maybe… if this goes well, we can come back here again during the holidays?”

Ray was nearly giddy at the thought of them returning here in a year. He wondered how serious they would be, still dating? Engaged? Surely not married yet, he didn’t want to scare her off but he also didn’t want life slipping through is fingers now and he was pretty sure she didn’t either. Not after all she’d lost.

“I would absolutely love that.” He smiled and took her hand then kissed the back of it.

xxxx

They both met downstairs in front of the reception desk with smiles. They were sure of their future together, more than ever.

Maude saddled up to the desk, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. “I see my only two guests got to meet.”

Nora nodded. “We met last night, we’re actually from the same city in Washington.”

“Really? How interesting and yet fate brought you all the way here to meet.” She had a knowing glint in her eye that made Ray and Nora glance at each other, wondering if she would magically disappear into thin air when they looked back.

Maude checked them out and wish them safe travels. “Oh! By the way, you two…”

Nora and Ray both turned around and smiled at Maude. “Yes?” They asked in unison and blushed at how in sync they already were.

“Shall I go ahead and reserve a room for you all next New Years Eve?”

Ray and Nora grinned. “That would be lovely, Maude, thank you,” Nora said and then turned on her heel and took Ray’s hand, leading him outside.

They helped each other pack up their cars and that’s when it finally hit Nora. Again. She wouldn’t see him for probably days. Sure they planned to FaceTime at night when she would stop but she wouldn’t get to hug him, touch him, feel his comforting gaze for days. It almost felt like they were over before they had begun. She knew that wasn’t true but that didn’t stop her lip from quivering and looking like a kicked puppy.

Ray saw Nora’s reaction just before he was about to start up his car and he went to her, putting his hands on her biceps, rubbing them comfortingly. “Hey… it’ll only be a few days, a week tops…” Ray kissed the top of her head and then pulled her in close.

Nora held on tight, she just lost her parents and now found this amazing guy, and was starting… something she wasn’t sure what to name yet, and now they were parting for who knew how long. What if the weather was bad? What if she had car trouble and got stranded?

Nora pulled away and swiped at her tears. “I’m sorry… I didn’t think I’d miss someone so much that I’ve known for less than twenty-four hours.”

Ray smiled and cupped her cheeks. “Me neither.” He was on the verge of tears as well but he tried to hold them back, to be strong for Nora. He wished he could come with her somehow but he wasn’t sure how that would all work with the two vehicles and the traveling and…

“Ray?”

“What?”

“Will you come with me?”

It was almost as if she read his mind. “What?” He asked.

Nora smiled weakly. “What if we met up in Boston and if you can, cancel your flight, and you road trip back to Star City with me?”

Ray choked on a laugh and pulled her in close. “I would absolutely love that, if that’s okay with you?”

Nora nodded. “I couldn’t think of a better way to start 2019 than with you.” She looked up at him and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him softly. “I’ll see you in Boston?”

Ray grinned and broke away from the hug but then stole one more kiss. “I’ll see you in Boston.”

 

_One Year Later_

Nora pulled up to the inn, it looked just like she remembered it from a year ago, only now she was seeing it in the daytime. She glanced over at her husband who took her hand in his and kissed it. Her wedding set glittered in the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow. Nora got out of the car and started unloading their bags. They had gotten there on the thirtieth, hoping to actually walk around the small town that brought them together and then stay inside practically all day on the thirty-first and ring in the New Year much like they had last year, with a kiss (and probably more).

So much had changed in the year. They had met up in Boston like they had agreed and road tripped back to Star City together. They quickly learned a lot about each other after being in close quarters for a week straight. Ray was a health nut, Nora loved junk food. Ray wanted to stop at every little landmark he knew a weird factoid about, Nora just wanted to get home. They had fights but always made up, and felt like they had lived a lifetime of their relationship all before they even got to their hometown.

When they eventually did arrive back in Star City, they went to Jitters, just like they had agreed to. The date was wonderful, thankful they did not have to immediately be in such close quarters after, and they parted ways with a sweet kiss the promise of further dates. After their road trip things momentarily slowed down for them, Ray’s job picked up and Nora was on the job hunt. She found a job as the drama teacher at a private high school in town, but wasn’t sure she’d get it. She was barely qualified and had to practically beg Ray not to somehow have a hand in her getting the job. He swore he didn’t and she believed him. And somehow, she got the job anyways.

Nora was happy to be teaching again, it just felt right. The structure of the school year gave her breaks, and she usually spent those in Ray’s bed which was slowly becoming their bed. The paintings he’d commissioned from local artists were moved to his office and the ones in his apartment were replaced with Nora’s. By May, Nora’s lease was up and Ray asked her to move in. She had immediately agreed.

They were happy. Happier than Nora ever thought she’d be and happier than Ray thought he could ever be again. They had their problems, just being so different but something always pulled them back to each other. They spent most of the summer at the beach, thankful for Nora’s break from the school and Nora was thankful that Ray spent almost the entire vacation shirtless. Things were serious and they were only seven months in.

By the fall, they had quite a domestic routine, get up, get ready, kiss goodbye, part ways in the apartment complex parking garage, and be off to their jobs. Sometimes if Nora didn’t have meetings after school she’d come by and visit him, keep him company if he wasn’t too busy until it was time to leave at five. Those were her favorite days because she got to have a few extra hours with the man she loved.

She met his somewhat estranged family at Thanksgiving. It was clear they were threatened by Ray’s success, his mom was nice enough and she could’ve been a little nicer without all the digs about how she was basically inferior to Anna in some way or another. They had left that thoroughly exhausted and she felt bad she didn’t have a family to bring him to for a peaceful reprieve. Not that her family would have been much better but she liked to think her dad would have at least liked him.

As the year inched closer to the one year anniversary of her parents’ deaths, Nora felt herself becoming increasingly closed off. She tried not to be. Ray was amazing and they had built this fantastic relationship in the span of less than a year. She was so sure she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life but she also knew that dealing with all of these feelings again would be hard.

She decided to take a leap of faith and actually go to Ray with some of her pain. Not all of it but crying on him when they were home and she was feeling sad. It actually helped her to get through her next wave of sadness just a little bit. And she was grateful that he was there to be her rock.

On her birthday, he had the whole day planned. She still wasn’t quite in the mood for fun but she indulged him, hoping that would turn into genuine enjoyment of the day. He had taken her to all of their favorite spots in Star City and ended the day with a quiet dinner at home. He knew her well enough to know a fancy dinner at a bought out restaurant was not her style. No sitting quietly with him eating Chinese out of a takeout box was.

Ray handed her a fortune cookie once they finished eating and when she broke it in half, a ring tumbled out and into her lap. She looked up at him, tears brimming and Ray nodded. He had told her how much she meant to him and how he didn’t want to let life slip through his fingers and he knew she felt the same. He wanted to marry her. So he asked her formally and she said yes. A million times yes.

They hadn’t planned on getting married so soon after that but they figured why wait? Planning their whirlwind wedding was the best distraction to help her cope with the pain of the one year anniversary of her parents’ death. She knew they’d want her to be happy. And she would be. The ceremony was incredibly small, in a chapel that fit less than 200 on the property of an older church, they exchanged vows in front of his friends that had quickly become hers as well and even his family was in attendance. He wanted to try and make things better with them now too.

That was Christmas Day. Now they were here, in Rider where it all started and Ray and Nora could not be more excited to see what this weekend and the new year would bring for their marriage.

They made their way into the inn that had been so good to them and smiled brightly at Maude. It had been a year and she had only known them for a matter of hours but it was like seeing a beloved grandmother. She ran over to them and embraced them both.

“If it isn’t my favorite guests!”  
Nora rolled her eyes. “Maude, I’m sure you’ve had more regular guests than us.” Nora tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her left hand and that’s when Maude saw her rings.

Maude squealed and yanked her hand close to inspect the rings. “Oh you did very good, Mr. Palmer. I’m assuming that means I should change the reservation to be for a Mr. and Mrs. Palmer?”

Nora and Ray both grinned. “If you want,” said Ray. “But that’s not necessary given that we’ll be in the room either way.”

Maude hugged them both again and patted each of their cheeks. “Well we’ll just have to get settled you both and I’ll make sure to lay out the lucky baby making blanket on your bed.”

Nora choked on a laugh. “The umm what?”

“It’s an old blanket my grandmother made that I rotate through the rooms because it’s just a very pretty afghan to begin with but I started noticing a pattern with returning guests, every time I would have that in a room of a couple that stayed here, the next time they would visit the wife was usually pregnant or they had a child in that time span.”

Nora’s face flushed red, she and Ray may have had a bit of an accelerated relationship but she definitely wasn’t ready for it to be that accelerated. Even if the thought of a little girl with Ray’s beautiful brown eyes did make her shiver pleasantly. “Maude that’s very kind of you…” Nora wasn’t sure what else to say. How do you not hurt the feelings of the woman that brought you and your husband together? Even if she was insinuating that you were going to get pregnant during your stay at her inn?

“Then it’s settled! Let’s get you checked in and upstairs to your room!”

Nora and Ray laughed quietly together, they had never had someone care about them this much in such a motherly way and it was appreciated, even if it was a bit invasive.

xxxx

Once Maude left them alone in their room, Nora picked up the blanket Maude had been raving about. It was a worn afghan that was laid at the end of the bed, granny squares were carefully stitched together, probably about as many squares as the blanket was old. She studied it carefully when she felt hands tickle her sides. Nora yelped and elbowed Ray playfully.

“Not funny! You know I’m jumpy!”

“Thinking long and hard about whether or not you want to leave the baby making blanket on our bed?”

Nora rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I am not. I would like for it to be just us for a little while longer.” Nora tossed the blanket to a chair in the corner. “Call me selfish but I don’t want to share you with anyone yet, even if that someone would be an adorable baby with your sweet brown eyes.” She turned in his arms and carded her fingers through his hair before gently yanking on the hair at the nape of his neck. “You’re mine and mine alone.” Nora pulled him in for a deep kiss, biting as his bottom lip as she pulled away from the kiss.

Ray, quite breathless at his wife’s actions, smiled at her. “You’ll be the death of me, Nora Palmer.”

Nora flushed pleasantly at the use of her married name. “Yeah well, I better keep you alive, who else am I supposed to kiss at midnight?”

“Maude might be into it, you never know,” Ray joked and she swatted him on the arm.

“You’re the only one I want to be kissing and doing other things probably, at midnight.”

“I’m glad we’re in agreement.” Ray grinned and pulled her in for another kiss.


End file.
